“We need to have stricter penalties,” said one source. “I think you will see that. I believe the commissioner and others would like to see stricter penalties. We need to be more vigilant.”

Of course, this comes after the league was almost unanimously pilloried for its two-game suspension (plus a fine of a week’s worth of his much-lower 2013 salary) of Ravens running back Ray Rice for knocking his wife unconscious.

Commissioner Roger Goodell cited precedent for that level of punishment, which seems comically light in light of collectively-bargained drug and PED suspensions.

“A lot of us were disturbed by what we saw [regarding Rice],” the person said. “I think you will see something in probably the next few weeks. A first offense could be four to six games, definitely more than two. A second offense might be a year.”

If the suggested toughening of the policy actually happens, it will be interesting to see if Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy is grandfathered into the old precedent or the new one. He’s been found guilty of assault and communicating threats for an incident involving a former girlfriend. He has appealed his conviction, and his jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 17.

So lets get this straight, they think that Rice’s punishment is enough for what he did yet they need to change the punishment now ? This makes tons of sense, so lets admit that the punishment was wrong in the first place & the NFL made a mistake (RG to be more accurate).

I used to respect how Goodell was keeping the game from becoming the xfl with his discipline etc, but damn, he looks real bad on this one. How the NOW organization is not camped out at NFL headquarters is beyond me, considering the female following of the NFL seems to be growing.

First time pot offense is not 16 games. Repeat after repeat offenses blatantly defying a known substance regulation results in a 16 game suspension. Not condoning anything, but come on its apples and oranges. PS it’s not my job to police this, nor is it the NFLs – so until Roger Goodell is head of our justice system lets get upset at the right people

jdfrox says:Aug 13, 2014 9:02 PM

What’s this Greg hardy reference! I thought ray rice was first player to ever commit this offense?

dukeearl says:Aug 13, 2014 9:08 PM

Not sure what CBA/no CBA has to do with it.
Conduct detrimental to the team.

BTW, any business can fire you for domestic violence (proven/unproven) doesn’t matter.

They don’t need a court conviction to do it.

If it makes the business look bad they can fire you for it.

doctorrustbelt says:Aug 13, 2014 9:11 PM

4 to 6 games is still a joke.

Beating a woman is terrible… but.. a juiced up freak beating a woman is potentially much worse.

The key word in their punishment is “possible” suspension. We all know this means that if a “star” player beats a woman to near death for questioning his manhood it will be a two to four game ban, while an undrafted free agent who slaps a woman who is holding a gun on him gets a full season ban. We all know how these suspensions work.

jerseyshoregiant says:Aug 13, 2014 9:12 PM

I wonder if Ravens fans would still root for Rice if they saw what happened inside the elevator. And why hasn’t anybody been able to see it? Thought it was public information?

When Pro leagues start playing law enforcement, you start getting weird stuff like owners being forced to sell their teams, and getting banned from games, based upon a recording of a private conversation, which happened to include some objectionable material. (albeit, such conversations are not admissible in court, in the state in which they occurred.)

Tangled web being woven, here. The NFL should produce football games. Law enforcement and the legal system can handle law, very well, thank you.

valentino8100 says:Aug 13, 2014 9:47 PM

Here’s a better idea –

Let the NFL worry about football, and let the cops, lawyers, judges, and jury take care of the criminals.
Wow that’s so easy.

NFL players should have to follow the same standard anyone of us “non celebrity/working class” folks would. Michael Vick never should have been allowed back in the league, and Rice should have been suspended for a year (at least).

I get that Vick served his time and should be allowed to redeem himself, but these athlete’s are given privileges that regular folks aren’t given and playing pro ball is an absolute privilege.

I think in Rice’s case that Ravens couldn’t cut him cause of his contract would have really hurt their ability to add anymore players and without that he would have been cut. There should be a stipulation where a team can cut a guy (without any monetary cap crippling) but good luck seeing the union work that out. Just another example of one of the many things that’s wrong with this country.

ragnarthemagnificent says:Aug 13, 2014 9:52 PM

While domestic violence is a serious issue we need to be careful about becoming the judge and jury. Please realize the nfl is a corporation. A large successful corporation.

Companies are going to model themselves after this. If you get a DUI, whoops one month off work without pay. Smoke a joint? No pay for a month. Intrusive drug testing and company power greater than the real actual laws. It is a dangerous road to go down. Rush Limbaugh would be proud NFL.

Wonder if MLB will take notice I vividly remember Miguel Cabrera beating his wife pretty good and never even hearing a mention of a suspension…

billbrasky72 says:Aug 13, 2014 10:06 PM

Dumb. NFL has no business getting involved. If a guy gets locked up, he will miss games….that’s enough. Also, now there will be even more gold-digging women making claims or trying to extort NFL players when a relationship goes down the tube.

The Breast Cancer Awareness long-month celebration by the league loses even more credibility because of this issue. More women are starting to watch football. Talk about alienating a good chunk of your fan-base.

I used to defend him, but Goodell has turned the NFL into a laughing stock.

pftfan says:Aug 13, 2014 10:09 PM

4-6 games. Until it happens to one of Bob Kraft’s starters, and then it’ll miraculously change back to 2 games.

Of course… They’d have to actually be found guilty of domestic violence first… RIGHT? I mean… Players don’t get suspended for SUSPICION of being high. They actually have to fail multiple tests showing they took drugs.

Life time ban first offense. That’ll stop it real quick and no exceptions

warotto9 says:Aug 13, 2014 10:57 PM

For those that want to call it the Ray Rice rule, I guess you missed the previous 100 plus arrests for domestic violence in the last 15 or so years in the nfl. You probably didn’t notice them since almost none of those players got any suspension or fine. The ones that did only got suspended after their third or fourth offense.

This is ridiculous. NFL should only be concerned with PEDs because that effects integrity of game. The only way NFL can be consistent and fair is if they stayed away from domestic personal issues that law enforcement should be handling. There will never be fair and certainly never consistent

Undoubtedly, Goodell and the NFL are taking their cue from this horrific War Machine situation as well as that Maine politician’s suggestions to force a change. Any time a player from another sport hits a wife/gf, it will reflect on the NFL by association. Ray Allen, Greg Ogden, War Machine.

It does not help the league that Ray Rice’s grandiose welcome by Baltimore fans betrays the lingering national anger. The NFL didn’t need that disgusting display. Furthermore, as the season progresses, it’s possible the fists will fly again. All that pink will ring hollow if Goodell and the NFL continue to ignore the problems. Too bad it’s going to take the death of a woman to force awareness and guidelines that stipulate ‘you hit, you don’t work for the NFL.’

drewzducks says:Aug 13, 2014 11:22 PM

The Steelers brought us the “Rooney Rule” and now these miscreants are bringing us the “Raven Rule”. The NFL still hasn’t decided if the Brown or Bengals will be credited with the “We Never Win Rule”.

drunkraider says:Aug 13, 2014 11:22 PM

the problem is also the legal system for these rich athletes.

If i knock a women out i will miss 4 weeks of work to because im in jail the entire time. these guys are out within hours of arrest and off partying like nothing happen.

and this doesnt just go for hitting a women this goes for everything with these guys.

I am more concerned with the DA’s office. In my 28 years of criminal justice experience, I have NEVER heard of a violent act qualifying for a Diversion program. All Diversion programs I am aware of require NO acts of violence, so the program is really for non-violent offense (i.e. marijuana, shoplifting, theft, etc.). I am not sure what the thinking was on this one or how it got approved.

bnwpnw says:Aug 14, 2014 3:43 AM

The ridiculously backwards pot penalties put the relative lack of concern about beating women in a particularly harsh light.

fanofthegame says:Aug 14, 2014 4:04 AM

If the police did their job and put Ray Rice in jail for six months during the football season, he’d miss much more than two games. Win/win.

tincansailor981 says:Aug 14, 2014 7:04 AM

Goodell, the genius at work again. He suspends players for alleged transgressions committed in college, hammers guys for smoking dope with a year long suspension, but gives a wife beater two-games? This guy is a joke and he needs to be employed some place other than the NFL.

What about all of the women mot married/engaged to an NFL player? Like it or not a lot of these guys were raised in a culture where domestic violence is the norm and consequences of your actions of any kind are an afterthought at best. That needs to be addressed before any real progress is made. Like it or not.

I say we let the government handle EVERYTHING because its just so good at it. Isn’t that what you’re really saying here? Just another J school hack liberal.

troy43mvp says:Aug 14, 2014 8:37 AM

Goodell is the justice system when it comes to the NFL and it’s players punishments. He does police it and has done so with an “Iron Fist” up until this decision. His decision on this particular case,because of his history of being tough not only shows favoritism toward the Ravens but also shows a lack of empathy toward domestic violence.

melikefootball says:Aug 14, 2014 8:57 AM

The NFL blew it and this is its lame try to get the fans OK with the Rice punishment. Ray Rice deserved more, yet Gödel and the Ravens ignored the larger problem with every fan …seeing all on tape.

I know Breast Cancer is a huge thing. But most people don’t know October is also DV awareness month. The NFL just needs to donate money to Breast Cancer research and start promoting DV awareness month. We can only donate money for research to stop Breast Cancer, but with the actions of NFL players we can help stop DV more.

think biggest issue is corruption at top…. Goodell, influenced by unscrupulous owners like Robert Kraft

why was cheating tolerated and Pats not punished much more severely? how do you prevent teams like Pats from employing criminals? how do you rid league of “trash” (exp. Pounceys and guys like that)? why was PCarroll allowed to ruin college program and come to NFL for payday?

agree… domestic violence should be dealt with more severely.. but so should all “bad behavior” and “bad people”

what about the disparity at top between the confs? is it right for Pats to be guaranteed playoffs every year due to division? why should we endure an AFC team in SB if they don’t have a competitive team?

Here is an idea. Take each case on its own merits. Mandatory minimums do not give the powers that be enough discretion, be it in the NFL or the justice system. There is no excuse for any domestic violence, but punishing NFL players is not the way to stop it. If the NFL wanted to have an effect, they would look at the root of the domestic violence that includes substance abuse, out of wedlock marriages, anger issues, and mental health problems. Treat the causes don’t just react to problem.

There are so many women who lie that the NFL can’t possibly take the hardline, “I don’t care what the law says he is suspended 8 games” stance. I have known men that have had 9-11 called on them like she thought they was going to kill her and the then she called the next day and said, “I was mad.”

Not trying to say that it happens all of the time, but it happens enough so that every claim has to be treated “as a claim” until substanciated.

Canton Bulldogs says:Aug 14, 2014 3:50 PM

Growing tired of this all out PR assault on Rice by this site. He did it. He’s showing the signs of wanting to make amends for it. It’s good enough for the law and this really is a legal matter. Give him a chance to dig out of this hole and stop throwing more dirt on top him. If not for his sake then do it for her sake so she can get past it.